The allegory of the vine and the branches is primarily about the bearing of fruit and not about salvation or ultimate judgment. If that is true then we should focus more on what fruit-bearing means.
The scripture refers to four types of branch:
1. Non-fruit-bearing branches in Jesus. (John 15:2)
2. Fruit-bearing branches in Jesus and Jesus in them. (John 15:5)
3. Non-fruit-bearing branches not in Jesus (John 15:6)
4. Bad-fruit-bearing branches (Isaiah 5)
Only type 3 is ultimately cut off and consigned to the fire. The vineyard that produces type 4 branches is left to its own devices, is neglected and overwhelmed with weeds:
“So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed;
I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground.
“I will lay it waste;
It will not be pruned or hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.” (Isaiah 5:5-6)
The goal of fruit bearing is not only qualitative in that the fruit should be “good” fruit but it is also quantitative. A certain quantity of branches will be pruned, and a certain quantity will bear abundant fruit. Jesus said that the bearing of fruit on the vine glorifies God and is also a proof of discipleship:
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. (John 15:8)
Jesus also said:
By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35)
Thus, if love equals discipleship, and if discipleship equals fruit-bearing, then fruit-bearing equals love.
Galatians defines fruit in like vein:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
So evidence of love is evidence of bearing fruit. But fruit does not come into being for its own sake. It is born in order that there might be nutrition (grapes), pleasure (wine), and the perpetuation of life (sustenance) for some other entity.
How is the glory of God manifested in fruit-bearing? According to Isaiah, mankind was created for the glory of God:
Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory,
Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” (Isaiah 43:7)
Can it be said that mankind glorifies God by bearing fruit? Are the products of spiritual fruit bearing—love, joy, peace—manifestations of God’s glory? Possibly, but there are caveats, such as that we do not manifest it very well—we are imperfect vessels and carry his glory far from perfectly, at least until the Great Reversal that reunites us with God:
For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.
But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:6-18)
God’s glory is seen not only in mankind’s fruit bearing, but in the whole of Creation:
The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Psalms 19:1)
Heaven itself is the place where God dwells and therefore is the place of glory:
With Your counsel You will guide me,
And afterward receive me to glory. (Psalms 73:24)
In the meantime, we do but…
… see in a mirror dimly, but then [when we are received into heaven, we will be] face to face [with his glory]. (1 Corinthians 13:12)
God reveals more and more of his glory as he prunes and the fruit flourishes. But we should remember that the focus is not on the pruned branches—not on us—but on the source of the fruit: The vine and the vinedresser, Jesus and God the Father, in all their glory. The fruit does not arise of its own accord, but because of its proximity to the source. There is no excuse for failing to focus on the source:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. (Romans 1:16-23)
The source of glory must not be usurped by us.
Alice: In Romans, Paul talks about grafting. He talks about bad branches being broken off and wild olive branches being grafted into the tree. (Romans 11: 13 – 24). May be we can get some insight from that passage. In that passage, there are two kinds of branches in the vine or God. Those that are there without fruits and those that are giving bad fruit. May be cutting of branches and grafting of wild ones would show us how this is done for them.
Kiran: God prunes the branches to make them productive but at harvest time the branches forget this.
David: I think we must remember that this is a metaphor for things of the spirit. Grapes and wine are material, tangible things. The process of grape production amounts to the realization of the potential in the vine. In process theological terms, the process glorifies God by realizing his potential: the vine is God the Being, while the fruit is God the Becoming. So each time we spiritually reflect that potential—when we are in the vine and the vine is in us—then God is glorified; that is to say, his existence is realized and perpetuated.
Jay: God abides in all four types of branch, but there is only one that reciprocates by abiding in the vine—in God—and that is the one that bears the fruit. So the critical thing to understand is what “abiding in God” means, because the key goal must be to abide in God. Life would not exist if we did not exist in him. The essence of God—love, goodness—is in us, it exists. The big question is: What is it that we provide in return when we abide in the vine? Is it a quid pro quo between humanity and divinity and if so what is the nature of it?
Kiran: Proportionally few branches—less than 25 percent—are not “in the vine” and are consigned to the fire. The majority are in the vine, and for them the process is automatic—there is nothing they can do about it. Nutrients are delivered to the branch which then produces good, bad, or no fruit. But the branch forgets that it was the pruning that resulted in good fruit. God wants every branch to produce good fruit because the more that is produced the more nourishment for its consumers. The branches have to expect to be pruned by God.
Alice: The branches that produce sour grapes represent people who, even though they are “in” God, still try to outdo him with works of their own.
Don: The notion of a branch of God’s vine that can produce bad fruit is puzzling in light of the following passage, which says that a good vine (a “good tree”) cannot produce bad fruit:
You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 7:16-19)
Is it possible that individual branches of the vine to individual do not represent individual people but some or other universal aspect or attribute of humanity? We tend to individualize it and in so doing we make it a metaphor of judgment, whereas in fact it might have a broader meaning?
Chris: We haven’t talked much about the leaves, yet they are extremely important to the production and quality of the fruit. The leaves are “giving back” to the vine for their nourishment by converting sunlight into carbohydrates and energy to produce components of good fruit and by creating a benign micro-climate that provides the fruit with shelter from excess heat and cold. The vinedresser stimulates the benign microclimate through his pruning, and that enables the branch to give back.
Jay: That is in contrast with the “I am the bread of life” statement, which implies a one-way transaction. Perhaps all the branches on the vine amount to one individual person. Each is some attribute of the individual which may at any given time need to be pruned if the individual as a whole is to produce good fruit. Perhaps it is a metaphor for the spiritual journey of a person through life. Sometimes we produce good fruit, sometimes sour fruit, and sometimes no fruit. To the extent it is a judgment metaphor it seems to me it speaks to Good and Evil in a general sense not at the individual level. Good abides back in God, and God returns it through the fruit.
Robin: I remain unclear about the identity of the branch. The vinedresser is God the Father. The vine is God the Son—Jesus. The fruit is our character. Is the branch just a supporting structure?
Jay: It seems we are caught between a narrow definition that relates to the individual and a broad definition that relates to universal principles.
Don: The vine cannot survive as fruit alone. The leaves and branches are vital.
Alice: Non-fruit-bearing branches are people who are necessary in some way to the people (branches) that do bear fruit. We see this in life. Most of us can point to someone who is always bothering us about something, who becomes a “thorn in the flesh” that reminds us to keep on the right path.
Robin: Jesus said:
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:15-23)
This passage seems to follow:
“Everyone who is called by My name,
And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.
Bring out the people who are blind, even though they have eyes,
And the deaf, even though they have ears.
All the nations have gathered together
So that the peoples may be assembled.
Who among them can declare this
And proclaim to us the former things?
Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified,
Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”
“You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
“I, even I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me.
“It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
“Even from eternity I am He,
And there is none who can deliver out of My hand;
I act and who can reverse it?” (Isaiah 43:7-13)
1. The Matthew passage tells us of good and bad fruit being produced by like trees. Is this actions resulting from either selfless (good) or selfish (bad) motives?
2. Isaiah passage: Does this speak to His children – Believers – being His witnesses, as to who He is (Creator and Savior; the only True God), and we glorify Him and bring glory to Him by being these witnesses?
There may be a sense of judgment here, of the Jews who would harden their hearts against the Son. And a justification of the Gentiles…
David: It seems to me we are over-analyzing the metaphor. It seems designed to get across a simple message about the manifestation of God through Goodness (good fruit), but we insist on complexifying it. We are treating the branch of a vine as though it had a mind, consciousness, and free will of its own. Clearly it does not. The “witnessing” of God is essentially the manifestation of God’s goodness, the assertion of God’s Being.
Don: The I am statements are intended to say something about God, but we tend to want them to say something about us. The metaphor does say that we are branches, but I think we should not make that the central focus.
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